Star Wars_ The Jedi Academy Trilogy 02_ Dark Apprentice - Kevin J. Anderson [23]
The Sullustan bowed, speaking nonstop in his rodentlike language. The female droid stood at attention and spoke in an astonished voice. “Why thank you, Admiral. That is most respectful of you. We appreciate your hospitality.”
The storm troopers took them away, clomping down the sterile halls of the Star Destroyer. The doors sealed shut again, leaving Daala alone with Commander Kratas. He turned to her with wide dark eyes below his beetling brows. “Admiral, have we lowered ourselves to the level of space pirates? Attacking transport ships and stealing supplies?”
Daala removed a datapad from her hip and punched a button to call up her latest readout. She turned it toward him so he could look at the information. “I appreciate your respect for the honor of the Imperial Navy, Commander. However, before I came to see the captives, I received a report regarding the contents of the Corvette’s cargo hold. There are indeed supplies for a new colony, but we also found heavy weaponry, communications gear, and prefabricated equipment for starfighter hangars.”
She gestured toward the door. “Back to the bridge. I want to see what happens next.”
“What do you mean?” Kratas said.
Daala switched off the datapad and looked at him. “You’ll see. Be patient for now.”
As they left, the door of the interrogation chamber slid shut, sealing behind it the darkness and the smell of fear trapped in the room.
The close-up image of General Odosk flickered, but she could see the self-satisfied grin on his wide, swarthy face. “Mission accomplished, Admiral.”
“Excellent, General. I trust you are at a good vantage point?”
Odosk nodded. “I wouldn’t miss it. Thank you.”
Daala turned back to the viewing window on the bridge. The wounded Corellian Corvette dropped out of the Gorgon’s hangar bay and drifted free in space. “Back away,” she told the navigator. “Order the Basilisk and the Manticore to do the same.”
“Yes, Admiral.”
The three Star Destroyers spread out and moved away from the much smaller ship. The Corvette’s damaged rocket engine no longer glowed.
Kratas shook his head. “I still can’t believe you’re letting him go.”
Daala intentionally spoke loud enough for the rest of bridge crew to hear. She rarely felt the need to explain her orders to underlings, but at certain times explaining her reasoning might make them respect her even more.
“Ships vanish all the time, Commander,” Daala said. “If we simply destroyed this ship, it could be written off as some accident in transportation. A meteor storm, a breached reactor plate, bad navigation through hyperspace. But if we let this captain send a message first, then the Rebel Alliance will know what we have done. We can accomplish the same task, but increase the terror and chaos. Do you agree?”
Kratas nodded, but he still looked doubtful.
The comm officer spoke up. “The transponder we implanted in his comm system has activated. He’s sending a tight-beam transmission to specific coordinates.”
Daala smiled. “Good, I didn’t think he’d wait until he got clear.”
The comm officer pressed an ear jack to the side of his head. “He’s reporting the situation, Admiral. Three Star Destroyers … fired upon without warning … taken prisoner and interrogated.”
“I think that’s enough,” Daala said. She opened the comm channel. “General Odosk, proceed.” She shielded her eyes.
The thermal detonators planted against the reactor walls of the twelve rocket pods detonated simultaneously, blasting the inferno open and sending a tidal wave of deadly radiation through the Corellian ship. An instant later the raging heat evaporated the entire hull, turning it into metallic steam. The rocket pods blew up in brilliant sunbursts; then the rest of the ship expanded outward in a blinding glare.
Daala nodded.